Wind Turbine Payback in Las Animas County, CO
Wind turbine payback in Las Animas County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Las Animas County, CO averages 6.19 m/s (13.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,113 kWh a year, worth $3,547 at CO's 16.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 28 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Las Animas County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Las Animas County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.4 m/s at the hub against 6.19 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,513 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,111, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 24¢/kWh, 1.4 times what CO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.4 m/s instead of 6.19. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CO
Las Animas County is the 598th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in CO is Baca County at 6.65 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Las Animas County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.97 m/s and about 2,207 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.33 m/s and 1,256 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Las Animas County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.27 m/s | 1,846 kWh | $310 |
| February | 6.45 m/s | 1,769 kWh | $297 |
| March | 6.70 m/s | 2,115 kWh | $355 |
| April | 6.97 m/s | 2,207 kWh | $371 |
| May | 6.22 m/s | 1,813 kWh | $305 |
| June | 6.14 m/s | 1,705 kWh | $286 |
| July | 5.33 m/s | 1,262 kWh | $212 |
| August | 5.33 m/s | 1,256 kWh | $211 |
| September | 5.98 m/s | 1,607 kWh | $270 |
| October | 6.12 m/s | 1,751 kWh | $294 |
| November | 6.44 m/s | 1,890 kWh | $318 |
| December | 6.44 m/s | 1,948 kWh | $327 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Las Animas County averages 4.88 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.92 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.217, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,288 to 26,469 kWh a year, 53% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 5.67 m/s | 17,288 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 6.19 m/s | 21,142 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.59 m/s | 24,090 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 6.92 m/s | 26,469 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Las Animas County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Union County, averages 6.75 m/s.
- Otero County, CO: 5.33 m/s, 14,821 kWh, payback 40 years (43 mi)
- Huerfano County, CO: 5.51 m/s, 16,109 kWh, payback 37 years (56 mi)
- Colfax County, NM: 5.94 m/s, 19,260 kWh, payback 34 years (59 mi)
- Pueblo County, CO: 5.18 m/s, 13,768 kWh, payback 43 years (63 mi)
- Union County, NM: 6.75 m/s, 25,239 kWh, payback 26 years (65 mi)
- Bent County, CO: 5.75 m/s, 17,859 kWh, payback 33 years (68 mi)
Sun versus wind in Las Animas County
Las Animas County gets 5.18 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,513 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,111. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.4 times. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.